In 2019, Jimmy and Autumn Goins took the LCC 90-Day Tithing Challenge and committed to tithing for 90 days while trusting God to meet their needs. Jimmy and Autumn and their two sons have been attending LCC for five years and are greeters and members of the Serve Team. Here is their story, as told by Autumn.

Jimmy and I took the 90-Day Tithing Challenge at the beginning of last year. We were already tithing, but only what we were comfortable with, not what we were called to give. So we raised our tithe to 10% and gave faithfully every week. Pastor Jeff was right—we never missed that money! And just like any child who is happy when they know they are pleasing their parent, we were so thrilled that we were doing what the Lord called us to do. 

In January, both Jimmy and I felt really moved by Pastor Jeff’s sermon about getting right financially. We both agreed that there are several things we needed to get paid off this year, and we both agreed that we needed to take Pastor Jeff’s advice and call around and see if we could get some of our regular bills lowered. On Wednesday, January 15, Jimmy called around and was able to get a few of our bills lowered, and I was just so proud of him. 

On Thursday, January 16, I logged into our Compassion International account to print our tax document for the child we sponsor, and there was a note on our home page. It read as follows, “This almost never happens. In fact, it’s so rare that fewer than 1% of sponsors ever get this opportunity. Typically, the local churches limit the program to one child per family, so the fact that these siblings both attend, means their family is one of the most in need. Would you consider sponsoring Darwin?”

We knew that the child we sponsor, Angel, became a big brother at the end of 2018, and I had actually sent an email to Compassion asking if we would be able to sponsor his little brother. But we never heard back from them. Months later, we decided to sponsor a young girl in the Dominican Republic through Food for the Hungry. So please imagine my surprise when I saw the message from Compassion International.

I was scared to text Jimmy. I knew I wanted to sponsor Darwin, but it's more than a financial commitment. It is writing letters, sending pictures and small gifts. It’s ministering from thousands of miles away. 

I texted Jimmy a screenshot of the message, and he said we would talk when he got home. I asked our boys to pray that we would do God's will in this situation. At dinner, I brought it up again, and Jimmy said he knew from the moment he read it that we were meant to sponsor Darwin too. He also said he couldn't help but think about the money we had just saved on our monthly bills and that we really wouldn't be missing any extra money besides the extra financial gifts we send. 

Thank you to Pastor Jeff for delivering difficult messages that we need to hear but may not want to hear. I know God’s hand is in all of this. We are living such a blessed and full life by trusting in God and following the plan he has for us!